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65th CONGRBSSI 

jd Session / 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



/ DoCtJMBNT 

1 No. 1854 



ELLSWORTH R. BATHRICK 

(Late a Representative from Ohio) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION i 7 - ; "^ / ? . 



Proceedings in the House 
February 10, 1918 



Proceedings in the Senate 
January 4, 1918 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 



'Lyo^*^ 




WASHINGTON 
1919 






^>i 







b; of -. 

JAN 28 I92Q 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 5 

Prayer by Rev. George Robinson, United States Army, 

'7 

ret i red 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. William Gordon, of Ohio H 

Mr. William A. Ashbrook, of Ohio 15 

Mr. Henry A. Barnhart, of Indiana 19 

Mr. Robert M. Switzer, of Ohio 23 

Mr. Warren Gard, of Ohio 25 

Mr. John S. Snook, of Ohio 28 

Mr. Arthur W. Overmyer, of Ohio 32 

Mr. Isaac R. Sherwood, of Ohio 39 

Proceedings in the Senate 43 



[3] 




' p ^, 



HON. ELLSWORTH R. BATHP.ICK 



DEATH OF HON. ELLSWORTH R. BATHRICK 



Proceedings in the House of Representatives 

, Thursday, January 3, 1918. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, whose invisible 
hand guides the stars which mark the flight of time, Thou 
has brought us to the beginning of a new year, with its 
hopes and ever-widening possibilities. 

The past is ours by inheritance and by our personal ex- 
perience. The future is a closed book. Help us by the 
wisdom of the past, its mistakes and defeats, that with 
calmness and serenity we may read the pages of the 
future, as they are unfolded, with fortitude, courage, and 
vigor. 

As the sun rose upon the new year it looked down upon 
a world of strife, carnage, brutality, and heart-rending 
suffering and sorrow. Grant, most merciful Father, 
that amid all we may cling to Thee in faith as our refuge 
and our strength, for faith is truer than doubt, truth is 
mightier than the sword, right is stronger than might, and 
love shall live when the stars have all gone out. 

May the dutj' well done to-day strengthen us for the 
duties of the to-morrow, and may the achievements of the 
past inspire us to the new achievements which the future 
hath in store for the faithful. 

Since we last met two Members of the congressional 
family have crossed the river of death; peace be to their 
souls, and the consolation of faith, hope, and love sustain 
their colleagues, friends, and bereaved families. In His 
name. Amen. 

[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 



Mr. Sherwood. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce to the 
House the end of the earthly career of Hon. Ellsworth R. 
Bathrick, late a Representative from the fourteenth dis- 
trict of Ohio. On some future occasion we hope to pay a 
fitting tribute to his memory. I offer the following reso- 
lutions. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late a Representative 
from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the deceased this 
House do now adjourn. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

In accordance with the resolutions, the House (at 12 
o'clock and 29 minutes p. m.) adjourned until to-morrow, 
Friday, January 4, 1918, at 12 o'clock noon. 

Monday, February 4, 1918. 

Mr. Sherwood. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
for an order for a special session to be held on Sunday, 
February 10, 1918, for the purpose of holding memorial 
services in honor of the late Ellsworth R. Bathrick, a 
Representative from the fourteenth Ohio district. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Sher- 
wood] asks unanimous consent that there be a special 
session of the House on Februarj' 10, at 12 o'clock noon, 
for the purpose of memorializing the late Representative 
Bathrick. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 



[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



Monday, January 7. 1918. 

message from the senate 

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Waldorf, its enroll- 
ing clerk, announced that the Senate had passed the 
following resolutions: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late 
a Representative from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of the 
deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the deceased the 
Senate do now adjourn. 

Saturday, February 9, 1918. 
The Speaker. The Chair designates the gentleman from 
Ohio, Gen. Sherwood, to act as Speaker pro tempore to- 
morrow. 

Sunday, February 10, 1918. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon and was called to 
order by Mr. Sherwood as Speaker pro tempore. 

Rev. George Robinson, United States Army, retired, 
ofTered the following prayer: 

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we recognize Thee 
as the author of life, the arbiter of our destiny. We thank 
Thee that Thou hast given life to men, that Thou art the 
former of our bodies, so fearfully and wonderfully made, 
and the Father of the spirits of all men. We thank Thee, 
too, that in these spirits of ours everywhere Thou hast 
implanted a longing for and a belief in a life beyond this 
life. 

We thank Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, who came from 
Heaven to give life and to give it more abundantly, that 
Thou didst confirm this hope and belief in the hearts of 
men, that Thou didst teach that Thou art the source of 

[7] 



Memorial Addeiesses: Representative Bathrick 

life, that Thou didst prove by Thy resurrection from the 
dead, and by infallible proofs to Thy disciples that Thou 
hadst risen, that this life was in Thee. Tliis gives us hope 
in the death of those whom we love; and we pray Thee 
that on tliis occasion Thou wilt confirm this hope and this 
belief to each and every one of us. Do Thou grant to her 
who has been caused so greatly to mourn the influence 
and the gift of Thy holy spirit to put into her heart the 
sympathy of Him who once stood beside the grave and 
adown His cheeks coursed the tears of pity and of sym- 
pathy. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. He 
can speak to wounded spirits. He can bind up broken 
hearts. We pray Thee that Thou wilt give to her the 
sympathy and comfort that she so much needs. And to 
all who mourn his loss, to all his friends, may there be 
spoken in this hour the warnings and the encouragement 
to live nearer to the Christ; and may we all take new 
devotion from these ceremonies to give our energies, 
especially in this great crisis of the world, to make all 
sacrifices necessary in order that we may finish the task 
that has been given to this Nation to do. 

Thou, O God, art the power that worketh for righteous- 
ness on this earth. We believe that in this warfare we 
are in sympathy with Thee, and that Thou art in sym- 
pathy with us. Therefore we pray Thee that Thou v^dlt 
bless our efforts to bring to the earth peace, founded on 
righteousness and truth and justice. We ask all for 
Christ's sake. Amen. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will read the spe- 
cial order. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Sherwood, by unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That Sunday, February 10, 1918, be set apart for ad- 
dresses upon the life, character, and public services of Hon. 
Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late a Representative from the State of 
Ohio. 

[8] 



Proceedings in the House 



Mr. AsHBROOK. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following reso- 
lution. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from Ohio 
offers a resolution, which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

House resolution No. 246 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, that 
opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late a Member of this House from the 
State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public career, 
the House, at the conclusion of these exercises, shall stand ad- 
journed. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the 
family of the deceased. 



The resolution was agreed to. 



[9] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Gordon, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: The death of Ellsworth R. Bathrick was 
a striking example of the fact that no one can know when 
" the pale horse and his rider " will call to deliver the 
final summons to go hence to that final "bourn whence 
no traveler returns." 

In the prime of life and apparently in full health and 
vigor only a few months before, no one would have been 
likely to suggest that in the whole membership of this 
House he would be the next to pass away. 

The recent large increase of the death roll in both the 
Senate and House, many of whom had not yet passed the 
meridian of life, furnishes startling evidence of that gen- 
eral law of mortality to which all mankind is subject and 
leads us to reflect upon the solemn fact that death comes 
like a thief in the night and that no one can foretell or 
forestall his coming. 

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, 
And all the beauty, all that wealth ere gave. 

Await alike the inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

Since the Sixty-fifth Congress convened in extraordinary 
session on April 2, 1917, four Senators and six Members 
of this House have departed this life, during a period of 
less than 10 months, a most significant commentary upon 
the uncertainty of human existence and the remorseless 
and persistent mortality among men before the devouring 
" scythe of Time." 

[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representatimj Bathrick 

Mr. Bathrick had served two former terms in this 
House, in the Sixty-second and Sixty-third Congresses, 
and, so far as my information extends, he enjoyed the 
friendship of everj' man with wliom he came in contact 
during his entire public service. He was invariably cheer- 
ful and kindly in temperament and disposition and agree- 
able and friendly in his association with his colleagues. 
My service here began with his second term; and it is a 
great pleasure for me to record the fact that I have never 
heard an unkind or unfriendly word spoken in Washing- 
ton of or concerning Congressman Bathrick. It is indeed 
true, as Tennyson has said — 

Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
And simple faith than Norman blood. 

The House of Representatives, constituted as it is of 
men elected from every part of all the States of the Union, 
is more typical and representative of the whole people of 
the United States than any other body of our citizens can 
possibly be. The prejudices, faults, and frailties as well 
as the virtues and ideals of our people are found in the 
membership of this body. Unless thrown into daily 
contact and association by membership on the same com- 
mittee, or by living at the same hotel. Members of so large 
a body as this are unable to weigh fully or to judge fairly 
all the elements which make up the character of an asso- 
ciate Member, and are therefore likely to judge harshly the 
faults and weaknesses of a colleague and to underestimate 
or entirely ignore many of his virtues and attainments 
which should be considered in forming a just estimate 
of his worth as a Member. Long service ultimately dis- 
closes a Congressman to the men who serve with him in his 
true character; but many men elected to this House serve 
not to exceed two or three terms, and their capacities are 
not fully disclosed or developed. Is not this an appropri- 
ate time and occasion for every Member to ask himself 

[12] 



Address of Mr. Gordon, of Ohio 



whether or not he has heen hasty and premature in pro- 
nouncing judgment upon the character and capacitj"^ of a 
colleague whom he may not have fully known or under- 
stood? A rule of this House wisely prohibits a Member 
from arraigning the motives of one with whom he dis- 
agrees upon a question under discussion. Does not this 
rule suggest the proper attitude of mind and heart which 
each Member should maintain toward every other Mem- 
ber of the House? And ought not tliis to control the daily 
speech and conversation of Members, public and private, 
both on and off the floor? 

The highest duty that Members of this House owe to 
their countrj', next to the obligation imposed by their oath 
of office, is to protect the character and cUgnity of this, the 
greatest legislative body on earth. We should perform 
this duty by a course of conduct both on and off the floor 
which will reflect no discredit upon it by reason of om* 
membership in it, and by always remembering that the 
rights and privileges of Members are equal under the Con- 
stitution and the laws; by a strict observance of the rules 
and the equal rights of all Members; by the widest liberty 
of opinions and the utmost freedom to express them, and 
a courteous and charitable regard for the rights of those 
who maj' disagree with us. 

In essentials — Unity. 

In nonessentials — Liberty. 

In all things — Charity. 

As we pay this last tribute of respect to the memory of 
our departed colleague let us renew our faitli in and 
allegiance to our country, its Constitution, and the princi- 
ples they were founded to perpetuate and defend. We are 
assailed by a foreign foe; but justice, liberty, and truth are 
mighty and must prevail or government of the people, for 
the people, and by the people will perish from the face of 
the earth. 



[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

As public ollicials and as men let us throw oft" all false 
pride and resolve anew to perform our full duty during 
the brief period of our sojourn here on earth, reminded, 
as we are, by this solemn occasion, of the brief and transi- 
tory character of human existence. 

■M\Tiy should the spirit of mortal be proud? 
Like a swift fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud, 
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
He passeth from life to his rest in the grave; 
For we are the same our fathers have been; 
We see the same sights our fathers have seen; 
We drink the same stream, we view the same sun. 
And run the same course our fathers have run. 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Ashbrook, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: I first became acquainted with Ellsworth 
R. Bathrick during the campaign of 1910, when he was 
first elected to Congress. I was pleased with his person- 
ality' then, and as the jears passed on, as I learned to know 
him well, our fi'iendship became strongly welded. I be- 
came his good friend and he became my good friend. I 
met him at Columbus, Ohio, at a meeting of the Demo- 
cratic congressional candidates of the several districts in 
the State. I believe everj' one of the twenty-two candi- 
dates were present. No doubt all had at least a vain hope 
that the}' might be elected at the following November 
election; but I am sure that no one present, except our 
friend " Bath," as we affectionately called him, believed 
that he had a ghost of a chance to win in the nineteenth 
district. No one would have been foolish enough to 
hazard a thing of value, even at great odds, on his success. 
But he was elected and, if I mistake not, overcame a 
Republican majority of something like 13,000 and had 
the honor to be the first Democrat ever elected from tliat 
district. I believe he was one of the most successful cam- 
paigners in Ohio. I did not then understand how he 
could possibly be elected from such a strong Republican 
district; but when I became better acquainted with him 
I understood why it was he overcame such gi'eat odds. 
The people knew him; they believed in his honesty of 
purpose and trusted him, and he never violated their trust. 
In these days politics cuts but little figure with the people. 
Their faith and trust in a man is far greater tlian their 
loyalty and adherence to party or platform. 

He gave such satisfactory accounting of his stewardship 
here in the Sixty-second Congress that he was returned to 

[15] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

tlie Sixty-third Congress. In the meantime, however, the 
State had been gerrymandered and he was thrown in a 
new district, which resulted in his defeat for the Sixty- 
fourth Congress; but his reputation as a legislator became 
better known in his new district when he was nominated 
for the fourth time and he was elected to the Sixty-fifth 
Congress by a good, safe majority. He came to Washing- 
ton last spring, when the extra session was called, from a 
hospital in the Southland, and remained here faithfully 
during the nearly six months of that strenuous session, 
devotedly doing his duty and loyally upholding the Presi- 
dent during the great world-wide war crisis forced upon 
us. He was not a well man. He knew it. One less brave 
and courageous would have sought environments more 
conducive to the restoration of his health. Doubtless, had 
he done so, he would have been alive to-day. During the 
months of that historic session I often urged him to go 
away and leave this terrible grind and try to recuperate 
his health. He refused all such friendly advice and re- 
mained at his post of duty. I would not say that he did 
not sacrifice liis life on the altar of his country just as 
surely as the brave soldier who falls in the trenches. He 
did more than his bit, bravely and well, and his name will 
long be remembered and honored by a grateful people and 
a grateful country. 

When the last session of Congress ended, on October 7, 
our good friend was hopeful that he would be ready for 
liis duties at the regular session in December. I bade him 
good-bj% not believing that it was for the last time; but 

'Tis the -wink of an eye, 'tis the draught of a breath. 
From the blossom of health to the paleness of death. 

The disease which had firm hold on him soon thereafter 
again brought him low, and, while everything possible was 
done by loved ones, skilled surgeons, and practitioners, he 
gave up the unequal fight with our common enemy at his 

[16] 



Address of Mr. Ashbrook, of Ohio 



home in Akron, Oliio, on December 22, 1917. While still 
in the prime of life his useful and honored career was 
brought to an untimely end. Had lie lived until the 6th 
of the following month he would have been but 55 years 
of age. I attended the service held at his home on De- 
cember 27 last, in charge of his pastor, who was his next- 
door neighbor and friend. Without paint or color he 
truthfully and beautifully gave honest expression of an 
intimate and personal acquaintance of many years. I 
would that 1 might merit as high tribute when that last sad 
hour comes to me, and to you, my colleagues, as was the 
eulogy pronounced for our friend. His remains were laid 
to rest in the beautiful cemetery of his home city. 

Congressman Bathrick was born in Oakland County, 
Mich., where he spent his young manhood. He had a 
varied and interesting career, often related to me; but I 
will speak only briefly of his service here. I might say, 
however, that it was his early ambition to be elected to 
Congress. That was his life's goal. I have heard many 
Members also declare that early in life they set stakes for 
a seat in Congress. High ambition, without doubt, is most 
helpful and valuable to all, as it was to him. Ambition 
spurs us to make the best of our talents and opportuni- 
ties. He reached his goal and worthily adorned this, the 
greatest lawmaking body in the world. He fought val- 
iantly for the best interests of his district; but he was more 
than a Representative of the nineteenth Ohio district He 
concerned himself for the general good of all the people. 

I do not believe there are a half dozen Members of Con- 
gress to-day who are better informed on the subject of 
rural credits than was our late colleague. He studied the 
question deeply and devotedly. He believed in it. He 
talked it intelligently and insistently, and much of the 
credit for this law can be laid at his door, although the 
legislation was enacted during the Sixty-fourth Congress. 



116943°— 19 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

He was early an ardent advocate of a big navy. Before 
war was declared by Germany on our allies his friends 
dubbed him " Battleship Bath " because of his intense 
concern in this now vital question. He had both brains 
and vision. He was a writer and author of no mean 
ability. His book. Please Don't Worry, is a gem worthy 
to adorn any library. Last summer he ran across some 
old manuscript written 25 years ago which was eagerly 
accepted by a prominent publication at so much per line. 
He had a fertile brain, a fluent tongue, a ready pen; but, 
best of all, a warm and sympathetic heart, a generous 
disposition. Void of deceit and hypocrisy, he was stead- 
fast and true to his friends. He was conscientious in his 
every act, open always to conviction, but when once 
firmly convinced that he was right was a most determined 
contender. He possessed so much to be commended and 
so little to fault, and his virtues so bedimmed his frailties, 
that I will ever hold in fond recollection the memorj' of 
my good friend, Ellsworth R. Bathrick. 



[18] 



Address of Mr. Barnhart, of Indiana 

Mr. Speaker : " God moves in a mysterious way His 
wonders to perform " is a truism that more fully im- 
presses us each succeeding year of our lives. I once 
passed tlirough the ordeal of standing at the bedside of 
one very dear to me and day after day watching the peace- 
ful ebb of a life of usefulness and happiness at a time 
when it seemed that the very fullness of life's possibilities 
ought to be shedding their radiance where the shades of 
deatli were surely falling. I looked about me and saw the 
hopeless and the friendless anxious to be called from 
their distress and despair. I saw the dissipated and the 
loafer — men and women living with no purpose except 
their own selfish pleasures or the gratification of base 
desires — and I saw the careless and the pampered revel- 
ing in daily nothingness. Then I compared the helpful 
and happy life going out with those which were to live on 
in helplessness and carelessness and uselessness, and I 
said, surely " God moves in a mysterious way His wonders 
to perform." And the wonder of taking the happy and 
the helpful and leaving the miserable and the slothful 
abides with me on and on, mysterious and incompre- 
hensible. 

So when I see a man like Congressman Bathrick, in 
the very prime of life, and who has risen to a place of 
helpfulness for his fellow man, called by death, I look at 
fate and stand in mute bewilderment. 

I knew Mr. Bathrick well, but not intimately. I knew 
him as an industrious, conscientious man, who, when he 
made up his mind as to what was right, fought for it 
with an open intrepidity always commanding, although 

[19] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

not always persuasive. Was he industrious? Yes. Was 
he honest? Yes. Was he dependable? Yes. Was he 
moral ? Yes. Was he true to his convictions ? Yes. Was 
he fearless? Yes. Was he solicitous for the welfare of 
others? Yes. 

What higher personal tribute, then, could we pay him? 
He was not a politician in the sense that he would sacrifice 
conviction for policy; and he was not a trimmer, setting 
his sails for every popular wind that blew. He had hon- 
est convictions and often expressed them in manner not 
conducive to disarming his opponents, but always with 
an earnestness that left no doubt of his sincerity and his 
devotion to his conclusions. 

Such a man is always a benefactor to a community or 
to any assembly of people's delegates. He is never awed 
by place or power, and usually he is heedless of fame or 
oblivion. He goes ahead, out in the open, in sight of his 
people and his God, and does his best with the instruments 
of justice and logic with which his Maker has endowed 
him. And his paeans of praise will always be eloquent 
with plaudits of a free people who honor a man who has 
convictions and is not afraid to express them. 

Mr. Bathrick was primarily a business man, and he 
came to Congress as a Representative of a large business 
constituency in his home city of Akron. He talked much 
of the business and labor interests that he represented in 
the National Congress, and yet he was more than a busi- 
ness man — he was an humble philanthropist. He always 
had a ready offering for the " down and out " and the de- 
serving in want. I have many times seen the Salvation 
Army lasses canvass crowds with their inverted tambou- 
rines, and they never appealed to Bathrick in vain; and 
the professional beggar found him an easy mark. More- 
over, he took much interest in the idealistic and the im- 
pressive in oratory and literature. I once told him of a 



[20] 



Address of Mr. Barnhart, of Indiana 



wonderful word picture I heard a great man paint of the 
duty of human life and the end of it; and he asked me to 
please put it in manuscript form; and I did so, as I could 
best recall; and he often referred to it as a most impres- 
sive admonition for us to observe. It was a discourse on 
the importance of men and women honestly earning and 
saving money to be used in the world's work — in charity, 
benevolence, education, and assistance and relief of hu- 
manity generally. And after the speaker had gone into 
the realm of financial endeavor and pointed out the right 
and wrong of money making and money spending he said 
he always felt that the men and women who struggled 
hard to get dollars so as to hoard them for heirs to quarrel 
over after they had passed on would better never have 
been born. For when money has been made and we have 
accomplished most of our desires, " Watchman, what of 
the night? " After we have accumulated wealth, after we 
have surrounded ourselves with home and family and 
friends, after we have achieved distinction in professional 
or scholastic endeavor, and after we have stood in the 
leadership of men in social and political power; after all 
of these and probably many more accomplishments, there 
will come a day when we will weary of it all, and when 
that day comes we will lie upon a couch that has always 
furnished us refreshing rest, we will toss feverishly and 
fretfully about, we will be surrounded by the family and 
friends that have been our mainstay of strength always, 
and we will be attended by the most eminent medical skill 
our abundance of money can employ. But in the midst 
of these earthly agencies of help we will suddenly turn 
our backs upon it all and beseechingly implore : 

Other refuge have I none; 

Hangs my helpless soul on thee. 
Leave, oh, leave me not alone, 

Still support and comfort me. 



[21] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

Mr. Bathrick often spoke of this reality, that must come 
to all of us, as one of beautiful conception for those who 
live right and one that should be impressed on everybody; 
and a man with such reverence and thoughtfulness for his 
final responsibility could scarcely be anything else in his 
heart than a noble type of upright citizen and American 
manhood. 

And, so hail and farewell to another life we knew and 
which made its impress for better things in the world. In 
the hurly-burly of our busy lives frequently we do not see 
the high qualities in the lives of our friends many times 
until it is too late to show them lo\ing appreciation and to 
give them the bouquets of gratitude which humanity owes 
to them. 

Lord God of hosts be with us yet, 
Lest we forget, lest we forget. 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Switzer, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: The announcement of tlie death of our 
lamented colleague, the late Representative of the four- 
teenth congressional district of Ohio, came to me as a 
great surprise and left in its wake the deepest sorrow. 

I had not been apprised of his long and serious illness, 
of which I later learned, and I therefore was wholly un- 
prepared for the most unwelcome message. But this 
merely illustrates the usual human frailties and our gen- 
eral unwillingness to believe that the final summons ever 
hovers near. 

It was my good fortune to have had more than a casual 
acquaintance with our deceased colleague, as we lived for 
quite a while at the same hotel during a part of the long 
session of the Sixty-third Congress. I well remember that 
during some of the monotonous periods of that session, 
when the House was marking time waiting on the Senate, 
we frequently enjoyed summer evening strolls upon the 
beautiful avenues and streets of the Capital City. On 
these occasions we freely spoke our minds upon the vari- 
ous public questions of the day and the current events. 
It was then that I became impressed with his compre- 
hensive vision and analytical mind, as well as with his 
winning colloquial powers, and it was then that I learned 
to admire his independent thought and frank expression 
upon the topics of the day. 

No party man was less hampered by party ties or par- 
tisan motives when approaching the discussion of a public 
question than Hon. Ellsworth R. Bathrick; and when 
debate had ended and the time arrived for casting the final 
vote on a pending measure no Representative of this or 
any other Congress was freer from party restraint or ever 
recorded a more sincere conviction. 

He never allowed political expediency to interfere with 
or in any wise warp his judgment in the discharge of pub- 

[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

lie duty; and wherever duty demanded his presence, 
whether in the halls of legislation or on the public ros- 
trum in a political campaign or in some great civic move- 
ment, he never hesitated to courageously come to the fore 
and express his conscientious convictions, regardless of 
popular opinion. 

A close observer and a diligent searcher for the truth, 
a student of social conditions, as well as exclusively po- 
litical propositions, and quick to notice the evils flowing 
from many existing industrial, economic, and impei'fect 
governmental conditions, his philosophical mind was ever 
at work devising some legislative scheme for their amelio- 
ration, a possible remedy for the passing wrong. 

He was an indefatigable worker, and his well considered 
conclusions on matters public and private were highly 
prized and much sought after by his friends, both in and 
out of Congress. His work bespoke a promising legisla- 
tive career. 

But in the prime of manhood and in the middle of his 
chosen work his earthly career was suddenly ended by the 
grim reaper, whose deathly scythe is so swiftly and surely 
garnering the present generation, as well as it has the 
past, to the home of the fathers. His presence among us 
will be no more; his ever-generous welcome and hearty 
handshake will undoubtedly be missed; but our minds 
will often recur to his manly form and stately bearing, his 
clean and honorable life; and our memories will be fre- 
quently blessed with the recollection of his delightful 
company and inspiring association. 

"With these feeble tributes to his memory, and having 
an abiding hope that all may be well with those whom he 
sincerely cherished, especially the one nearest and dearest 
to his heart — his wife — we trust that his spirit may dwell 
in that land where pain and sorrow are unknown and joy 
and friendships never cease. 



[24] 



Address of Mr. Gard, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker : Ellsworth R. Bathrick was the first man 
of his party to be elected from the nineteenth congres- 
sional district of Ohio. I advert to this not in any sense 
of partisan achievement, for I do not believe it was a 
partisan achievement. Rather I believe that it was a re- 
sult occasioned by the popularity, the industi-j', and the 
worth of Mr. Bathrick liimself. The district he repre- 
sented is typical of the highest development of our 
country' to-day. Within its borders are the great manu- 
facturing concerns which have to do with the necessary 
and proper development of our country. Within its bor- 
ders, too, are the stretches of farms, the fertile land which, 
in the last analysis, contributes to the life and the well- 
being of us all. And Mr. Bathrick appealed with singular 
force both to those who live in the rural sections of liis 
district and to those who live in the congested and 
crowded districts of the manufacturing centers. It seemed 
to me that in his congressional life, as I have viewed it, 
he did two really great tilings. One was his championship 
of a system of credits to the farming community. Long 
before the present Federal farm-loan act was enacted the 
mind of Mr. Bathrick saw clearly what others of us may 
have seen cloudily and mistily, for he believed in the ex- 
tension of the Federal credits to those of farming com- 
munities in order that there be a greater productivity, in 
order that lands be made better, in order that a man be 
transferred from the position of a tenant to that of an 
owner; in other words, that tlie man himself have his feet 
on his own soil, and that thereby he becomes interested 
not alone in the temporary welfare but interested in the 
permanent welfare of his country, interested in all that 
his country might call for. So at a time when such a thing 

[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

might have been and was deemed visionary he had a dis- 
tinct realization that the good of the country demanded 
some such action, and over in the lobby of the hotel where 
I had the privilege of living with him for some time I 
have heard him upon numerous occasions — to everyone 
in Congress, and out of it, indeed, with whom he could 
come in contact — make known his own ideas about what 
should be done in order to encourage the great farming 
industry, which to-day is recognized, indeed, as the very 
base of our national life. 

And then he believed, he sincerely believed, that the 
great and immediate task of the United States of America 
was in the winning of this war, and he wanted to do that 
which would contribute in every way toward the speedy 
and successful consummation of that end. So he believed 
almost to the last of his days, for I had a personal knowl- 
edge of a telegram which he had sent to Members of this 
House making known his position upon matters of legisla- 
tion; that he wanted to be insistent, and have it known 
that he was insistent, that he favored, without partisan- 
ship, such matters as were for the greatest good of the 
country he represented. 

He fought this fight, too, in the Committee on Naval 
Affairs, of which he was an honored member. He saw, as 
all of us see now, the necessity for the upbuilding of such 
a condition of armament on the high seas that not alone 
may our coasts be protected, but that the lives of our citi- 
zens, those born under and entitled to the protection of 
the American flag, may be protected, wherever they may 
be, on the waterways of the world. 

Mr. Bathrick was singularly devoted to his friends. 
He had a condition of mind which may not be called po- 
litical, because he did not bow to the temporary whim or 
passing fancies; but he stood steadfastly for his convic- 
tions, for his friends, and when the last words shall have 



[26] 



Address of Mr. Gard, of Ohio 



been written of any of us it can make no higher or greater 
thing known than that he stood steadfastly for his convic- 
tions and for his friends. 

A short time after his death I was talking with one 
who came from his home district, and he told me some- 
thing which seemed to me to be indicative of the man's 
character, and that was his courage. He said that he had 
offered to come over and assist Mr. Bathrick, and Mr. 
Bathrick had said that he would be delighted to have his 
assistance, but that " something might happen to me, and 
this would reflect upon you in a way wliich might cause 
you inconvenience." So, even at this time, there seemed a 
realization in the mind of this man that something might 
happen; and the brave in life are those who realize the 
inevitable approach of an end to all the earthly endeavors 
here, yet bravely, even smilingly, face the future. So this 
man must have realized — I think he did realize — the in- 
sidious attack of the disease which ultimately carried 
him off; but he gave no word, he gave no sign. His great 
desire always, as I have known him, was to protect and 
to do all he possibly could for the devoted woman who 
had accompanied liim so long on life's pathway, and to 
stand, as I have said before, strong and steadfast for his 
convictions and by his friends. 

I believe that his life and his efforts have been appre- 
ciated by the great, the eternal, the benevolent Father of 
all, and that it is well with him. 



[27] 



Address of Mr. Snook, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker: It has been made plain by what my col- 
leagues have said that in the death of Ellsworth R. Bath- 
rick the cause for which we as a people are fighting has 
lost one of its most active friends and supporters. It was 
not my pleasure to have the intimate acquaintanceship 
with him that has come to some of my colleagues, for I 
did not have the privilege of serving with him in the Sixty- 
second and Sixty-third Congresses. The first time I ever 
remember meeting him was in Ohio while he was a candi- 
date for Congress in the campaign of 1910. The very first 
conversation I had with him impressed me that he was a 
man of courage and conviction. I came to know him bet- 
ter later, and after serving with him in the extra session of 
the Sixtj'-fifth Congress I believe I might be able to say 
that I came to know him as a friend. 

The custom so long observed by the House, when one of 
its Members is taken away, to lay aside all work and pay 
respect to his character and achievement is to my mind 
one of the most fitting that it has ever instituted. 

The association among Members, even from the same 
State, is not so close as I believe it should be to bring about 
that friendship which should obtain; a closer association 
would often lead to a knowledge of the aims and purposes 
of each other and result in much good to all of us. And 
yet, even with that want of close association whicli pre- 
vails in this body, one could not help being impressed with 
tlie personality of Ellsworth R. Bathrick. 

His habits of industry and the vigor and courage with 
which he expressed his views made one understand that 
he possessed a strong vitality; and therefore the news of 



[28] 



Address of Mr. Snook, of Ohio 



his illness and death came as a shock and surprise to all of 
us. I shall always remember him from the picture im- 
pressed upon my mind by seeing him in action, pressing 
home with all the vigor he possessed the weight and force 
of some truth as it presented itself to his mind. 

He was logical and forceful, and always stated his opin- 
ions with courage. He was kind and courteous to his 
friends and associates, but when engaged in a contro- 
versy over any question before the House he defended his 
views without fear and with a courage that commanded 
the respect of his associates. 

A glance at his historj' as detailed in the Congressional 
Directory shows the successive steps by which he gained 
a seat in this body. First, farmer boy, then pupil in a 
countiy school, high school, and business college, with a 
postgraduate course in the school of experience as a busi- 
ness man. 

I am sure you will agree with me if we could round out 
this brief statement of his achievement by the details 
from his own lips of what it cost in labor and sacrifice the 
story would be an inspiration to the young men of his 
district and the country. 

In traveling the road which leads from the farm to the 
House of Representatives he learned in the school of ex- 
perience that the obstacles necessary to be overcome 
could be removed only by making such sacrifices as were 
necessary to build a character that would stand every 
test. That he was successful in building such a character 
is proven by the fact that though he was a Democrat he 
was three times elected to Congress in a district where a 
great majority of the voters adhered to the policies ad- 
vocated by the opposing party. 

I have no doubt that it was the courage and the sin- 
cerity of the man that enabled him to gain and hold the 
confidence of his people. He was the type of man that 

[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 



the President had in mind when in one of his speeches he 
gave expression to this thought : 

We shall fight for the things which we have always carried 
nearest our hearts — for democracy, for the right of those who sub- 
mit to authority to have a voice in their own government. 

He was intensely loyal to his Government, for there was 
no man in the House who took a firmer stand in support 
of the conduct of the war. He had no patience with its 
critics, and always stood ready to make any sacrifice that 
might be necessary to bring the war to a speedy and suc- 
cessful conclusion. The death of a friend like this, just as 
he had reached the hour of his greatest opportunity for 
service, while life was full of promise for future achieve- 
ment, brings one face to face with the greatest of all mys- 
teries and fills one with a longing for an answer to its 
challenge. 

Shall we stop here and in anguish at our loss acknowl- 
edge that there is no solution and no hope for an answer? 
I love to believe that there is reason in the thought that 
comes to every one of us at this time — that surely all this 
toil and sacrifice have not been in vain; that somehow 
there will be found in God's infinite plan a way to give 
full expression to that which, on account of the brevity of 
life, he was able only partially or feebly to express. 

Faith makes us bold to speak of this thought, but under- 
standing is too feeble to aptly express it in language. 
Many have sought to illustrate it by turning to the laws of 
nature, and this method is now suggested to my mind. 

This has been a bitter winter; though it has seemed to 
lay the icy finger of death on shrub and flower, yet even 
now we begin to feel the call of spring; " we know the 
manner in which she has stored up sunshine, leaves, and 
blossoms;" we know that the bulb and twig which now 
seem dead will answer to the call of life and deck them- 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Snook, of Ohio 



selves with leaves of rich green and flowers painted from 
God's own urn of infinite colors. 

So the same faith leads us to believe that the life which 
failed to reach its full fruition here will blossom and bear 
full fruitage in a life to come. Nothing can fill the loss 
that comes to those whom he left to bear life's battles 
alone; yet to the afflicted there is solace and comfort in 
the thought 1 have tried to convey, which is so beautifully 
and clearly expressed by Whittier, the poet of faith: 

But still I wait with ear and eye 

For something gone which should be nigh; 

A loss in all familiar things, 

In flower that blooms, and bird that sings; 

And yet, dear heart, remembering thee, 

Am I not richer than of old? 

Safe in thy immortality. 

What change can reach the wealth I hold? 

What chance can mar the pearl and gold 

Thy love hath left in trust with me? 

And while in life's late afternoon. 

Where cool and long the shadows grow, 

I walk to meet the night that soon 

Shall shape and shadow overflow, 

I can not feel that thou art far. 

Since near at need the angels are; 

And when the sunset gates unbar. 

Shall I not see thee waiting stand. 

And, white against the evening star 

The welcome of thy beckoning hand? 

Mr. Gard took the chair as Speaker pro tempore. 



[31] 



Address of Mr. Overmyer, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker : The loss of our friend and colleague. Con- 
gressman Bathrick, is the first death in the Ohio delega- 
tion in Congress since I have become a Member of the 
House. To me it seemed like the breaking of a circle, the 
loss of a member of our official family, the parting with a 
brother. I can still scarcely bring myself to realize that 
he is dead. 

But 1 know the sad truth. I know it is so. Sorrowfully 
we filed past his coffin and looked for the last time on the 
features of our comrade and friend. Soon thereafter the 
words " earth to earth, dust to dust," were spoken over his 
grave and all that was mortal of Ellsworth R. Bathrick 
was hidden from our view forever, and " the places that 
knew him shall know him no more." 

We have assembled here to-day to pay our respects to 
his memory — a solemn and sacred duty, a duty that to be 
performed in keeping with the sentiments to which it gives 
rise must be done with bowed heads and hearts filled with 
humility. Our colleague has met that sublime and uni- 
versal moralist— death; that great teacher who speaks in 
a voice which none can mistake, who comes into our midst 
with a power which none can resist, and, despite our pro- 
tests and our tears, our pleadings and our prayers, re- 
moves those whose words have been a cheer and whose 
presence has brought exultation. This stern messenger, 
this mysterious agent of Omnipotence, has come among 
our nmnbers and laid his withering hand upon one whom 
we had learned to honor and respect. Our colleague has 
gone the way of all the earth, with his good deeds left to 
cheer us onward and upward, his errors and shortcomings 



[32] 



Address of Mr. 0\^rm^'er, of Ohio 



buried within the silent chamber to which his body was 
consigned. 

But there is consolation in the thought that the influence 
of our friend still abides with us, even though he is no 
longer here; and to-day, as we contemplate upon the re- 
moval from our midst of our colleague and friend, we 
mourn his departure but glory in the presence of his be- 
nign influence. The influence of the dead upon the living 
is a powerful one. The relations between man and man 
cease not with life. The dead leave behind them their 
memorj', their example, and the effect of their actions. 
Their influence still abides with us, their names and char- 
acter dwell in our thoughts and in our hearts. Those 
whom we have loved in life are still objects of our deepest 
aff"ections. Their power over us remains. They are with 
us in our solitary walks and their voices speak to us in 
the silence of midnight. The world is filled with the 
voices of the dead. They speak to us in a thousand re- 
membrances, incidents, events, and associations; and the 
world is filled also with their labors. Almost all the litera- 
ture in the world, the discoveries of science, the glories 
of art, the ever-enduring temples, the comforts and im- 
provements of life^n fact, the very framework of so- 
ciety, the institutions of nations, the fabrics of empire — 
all are the works of the dead. By these they who are dead 
yet speak. 

If tliis were not true the death of a person would be 
absolutely the end of that individual, just as the destruc- 
tion of any earthly thing removes it from our thoughts. 
But the human body is more than clay. There is within 
that body a soul, something separate and apart from the 
body itself, which we love and cherish even after death. 
Not so with the destruction of earthly things. When the 
ingenuity of man raises before our eyes a twenty-story 
structure we stand in awe and admiration and behold the 
beauties of that building with something akin to rever- 



116943°— 19 3 [33] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

ence; but when the flames and earthquake in their wratli 
reduce that stately structure to ashes and ruins we do not 
place upon that pile of brick and mortar a wreath of 
mourning. We console the owner in his loss but shed no 
tears of grief. But when we stand above the last resting 
place of one who in life was dear to us we feel how keen 
was our loss in his death; and as we place upon that grave 
sweet tokens of love and memory we whisper to the soul 
that we feel is present " I love thee still ! " 

The sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which 
we refuse to be divorced. The love that survives the 
tomb is one of the noblest attributes of the human soul. 
Where is the mother who would willingly forget the ten- 
der infant that perished like a blossom from her arms, 
though ever}' recollection is a pang? Where is the child 
that would willingly forget a tender parent, though to 
remember is but to lament? When grief and anguish are 
calmed into gentle tears of recollection it may sometimes 
throw h cloud over the hour of gayety or throw a deeper 
shadow over the hour of gloom ; but there is a voice from 
the tomb sweeter than song, a remembrance of the dead 
to which we turn, even from the charms of the living. 

What a splendid time for meditation, then, it is when 
we call up in long review the histoiy of the virtues and 
gentleness, the thousand endearments lavished upon us 
bj' departed friends, almost unheeded in the daily inter- 
course of intimacy. This is a good time for us to settle 
the accounts with our consciences for everj' past benefit 
unrequited and every past endearment disregarded. If 
you as a child have added a sorrow to the soul or a furrow 
to the silvered brow of an affectionate parent; if you as a 
husband have ever caused the fond bosom that ventured 
its happiness in thy arms to doubt one moment of thy 
kindness; or if you as a friend have ever wronged in 
thought or word or deed or have given one unmerited 



[34] 



Address of Mr. Overmyer, of Ohio 



pang to any true heart that now lies cold, resolve hence- 
forth to be more faithful to the living. 

The desire to live is the strongest desire implanted in 
the human heart. In youth and middle life no struggle is 
too great for us to make in our effort to retain life. But 
as age advances this desire grows less and less insistent. 
God has a way of weaning us away from the desire to live. 
Our mental powers fail, the eyes grow dim, the limbs 
feeble, and our capacity for enjoyment of life grows 
limited, and then, indeed, 

Death is beautiful as feet of friend, 
Coming with welcome at our journey's end. 

Our colleague had not reached that period in life when 
his usefulness was over. On the contrary, he was just at 
the zenith of his ability and power to do good. "Why he 
was taken at this time we do not know; we only know he 
was taken. When our own summons shall come we do 
not know; that it will come we do know. Our plain duty 
then is to have our houses in order, to do all the good we 
can in every moment that is given us. 

Concerning our colleague's religious views I know 
notlilng. A man's professions are not always the fairest 
judgment of his character or faith. Basing my judgment 
of him upon a brief personal acquaintance and upon sen- 
timents expressed by him in a published volume, I believe 
he most fairly represented the true spirit and teaching of 
the great Master, that spirit of charity for all mankind 
" which suifereth long and is kind, which thinketh not of 
itself but of the welfare and happiness of others." 

In a small volume entitled " The Don't Worry Book," 
published by Mr. Bathrick a few years ago, we find, 
among others, the following gems : 

In the remote past we began to live. The first birthday was 
far back, at some crossroad of time. The wonder-working matter 
of the ages, the teachings of savants, the clash and death grapple 

[35] 



Memorial Addresses: Representativ-e Bathrick 

of armies, the upheavals of nature, the admixture of races, the in- 
ventions of man, and dispensations of God have shaped our course. 
Is it not the better plan to follow it calmly, making the most of 
what we are, and without futile rebellion? 



Even beyond death, Hope holds out its promise. So do we 
follow on through the inexplicable labyrinth of life. Footsore and 
weary though we be, we must travel bravely on. 

We know that sometime we shall enter into the deeper puzzle 
of the Realm of Silence, and when that hour arrives the messenger 
of the Shadowy King, clothed in the glorious garb of Hope, will 
take us by the hand and lead the way. But while we remain to 
tread the tortuous paths and the life-soul hungers for human 
things, it shall not be always in vain. 



Above all, learn to forget. Forget the wrong, but be wary of he 
who inflicted it. Do not hate. It will give you more worry than 
the object of it. Forget all that is useless. It is the discarding of 
the dross of life, the casting aside of used timber to make way for 
the new. 

Our lives should not be overcast by gloom of the past or future. 
Neither possesses the substance of the present. Both are mere re- 
flections. The past should reflect the light of pleasant memories 
upon the present, and contemplation of the future should shed its 
rays of hope upon our to-day. 

There is no shadow without light. Turn yourself around. 



Disposing of yesterday as material only for pleasant meditation, 
center your mind upon to-day as the sole period of your activities. 
Resolve that you will absorb only the good and will discard the 
bad. 

Having been loyal to resolution, lie down at night and sleep, 
gathering from the peace of slumber new vigor for brain and 
body. Sleep is the anodyne of tribulation. In the darkness of 
your chamber do not call upon the mind to see that which the eye 
can not. 



Fortified in your endeavor by this valiant aid, don the armor of 
high resolve and fare forth to the battle fields of life ready to re- 



[36] 



Addkess of Mr. Overmyer, of Ohio 



ceive or give blows in the conflict. It is childish to wish for 
triumph and fear defeat. It is cowardly to take winnings and 
whimper at losses. 



Put the bricks on the wall to-day where, according to your best 
judgment, they should be. If the future brands your labor as 
error, still forget, still endeavor. Put aside puerile self-condolence 
for real or imaginary misfortunes. It is sufficiently weakening to 
have friends sympathize with us, but much more so when we 
sympathize with ourselves. 

When you pity yourself, look about you and see the brave smiles 
upon the faces of those who have met with a fate worse than 
yours. There are millions of other human souls whose unsatisfied 
desires are as your own. 

Bear in mind, fate may be friend as well as foe. The condition 
which you worry about may be a kindly circumstance in the plot 
to be yet unraveled. There are other pages in the book of life 
which you have not read. 



We must pay. Eternal justice will keep a fair account, and we 
shall also be paid. For every pain we shall receive a joy, and 
they will be fairly measured. 

Our accounts must balance in the great summary of deeds of 
kindness, of pleasant words, of selfishness, of intolerance. 



Memory should be a golden cord, glimmering back to the van- 
ished hours, connecting our hearts with the smiles of loved ones, 
with the exaltations of success, and the joy of conquered obstacles. 

Forget the losses, the dark and rugged road, the storms, disap- 
pointments, and failures. Drive them from your mind into 
oblivion. Say unto them, as you would say to Satan : " Get thee 
behind me! " 

Surely, nij' friends, the sentiments which I have just 
read, and of which Congressman Bathrick was the 
author, are sentiments to which all of us can subscribe. 
To him a creed or a ritual would mean but little. But a 
broad faith in fundamentals, a belief in God and his fel- 
low men, practicing charity, dispensing cheer, building up 

[37] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Bathrick 

hope, he presents a character based upon a firm and safe 
foundation; and I can testify that in his life he exemplified 
the sentiments he proclaimed. I shall remember Ells- 
worth R. Bathrick as a courageous, able, sincere, manly 
man, a conscientious and honest public servant, a loyal 
and patriotic citizen, and a true friend. His death is his 
own victory; the loss is ours. 

What is Death? 'Tis to be free I 

No more to love, or hope, or fear — 

To join the great equality. 

All alike are humble there! 

The mighty grave 

Wraps lord and slave; 

Nor pride nor poverty dares come 

Within that refuge-house, the Tomb! 



[38] 



Address of Mr. Sherwood, of Ohio 

Mr. Speaker : Ellsworth R. Bathrick belonged to that 
class known as self-made men. His educational qualifica- 
tions were in the common schools, the high school, and 
the commercial school. Like all self-educated men, he 
was thoroughly practical and thoroughly imbued with that 
knowledge that counts best in the business and commer- 
cial world. During his three terms in Congress Mr. Bath- 
rick made a record as a capable and successful Member 
and accomplished results in valuable and vital legislation 
not excelled by any Member of equal service since the 
Civil War. 

It is conceded that a college education is a help to a 
public man, but not a necessary help to the highest 
achievements, either in law, legislation, or the broad do- 
main of civics. To illustrate, George Washington, the 
foremost general and statesman in the epoch of the War 
of the Revolution, was very moderately educated. Gen. 
Grant, who, in his time, was the foremost man of all the 
world, was only moderately educated, except as a cadet 
of West Point Military Academy. Gen. Jackson, born in 
poverty and poorly educated, was twice President and the 
foremost man of two generations. Henry Clay, born poor, 
self-educated, was the foremost orator of his time and the 
idol of his partj'. Abraham Lincoln, born in a log cabin, 
who learned to read books at night by the light of a pine- 
knot fire, who in youth never saw the inside of a univer- 
sity, was the foremost statesman and the popular idol of 
his country. 

This is a fitting time, on this sacred memorial day, to 
make the occasion an object lesson of value to the living. 

[39] 



Memorial Addresses: Representati\t Bathrick 

Mr. Bathrick's career as a young man, struggling 
against what seemed an adverse fate, should prove a valu- 
able and a hopeful incentive to every poor young man 
with an ambition for an honorable career. 

The brightest gleam of hope for the poor young man of 
to-day is the knowledge that the greatest men who have 
ever served or honored the high places of power in this 
Republic were born poor, with limited opportunities for a 
liberal education. 

Few of Mr. Bathrick's colleagues knew of his literary 
genius. That was because of his innate modesty. Let me 
tell the storj% as it is fitting here. 

About 25 years ago, when Mr. Bathrick was a reporter 
on a Cleveland newspaper, he wrote the text of a very 
beautiful children's story, but was dissatisfied with it, and 
in his youthful modesty threw it into a trunk with a num- 
ber of other papers; and there it lay for all these years 
until a couple of years ago, when he found it in looking 
over the accumulations in the trunk. He showed it to a 
friend jokingly, remarking about his literary ambition as 
a youth. His friend, however, was interested, and reading 
the manuscript was at once impressed with the beauty 
and literary merit of the story and urged that he submit 
it to a publisher. Mr. Bathrick was inclined to laugh 
away the idea, but the friend persisted, and, to oblige him, 
Mr. Bathrick sent it to a New York publishing house. 
Shortly thereafter he received a letter highly commending 
the manuscript and suggesting a revision and expansion 
with the view to publishing it as a book. Mr. Bathrick's 
health at that time was poor — this was during his first 
term in Congress — and he improved the opportunity af- 
forded by a winter in Florida, where he was seeking to 
recover his health, in rewriting and supplementing the 
story. It was then sent to the publishing company, ac- 
cepted, and only recently was published in book form. 
Mr. Bathrick derived more real pleasure from this 

[40] 



Address of Mr. Sherwood, of Ohio 



acliievemeut, he confided to his friends, than from any 
success he had acliieved in business or in politics. The 
story was a delightfully imaginative one, such as might 
honor the pen of Hans Christian Andersen or any other 
creator of those delightful children's stories. 

For the above I am indebted to Mr. Carl D. Ruth, an 
accomplished Washington journalist and correspondent. 

To write a successful children's story requires deep 
sympathy and kindly humane instincts. Our departed 
friend had these commendable qualities, added to an 
alert mind, a courageous determination to do his duty to 
his constituents, coupled with high practical ideals — all 
learned in the rugged school of experience. 

On this sacred Sabbath day, in this historic Chamber, 
let us consecrate ourselves to that fervent patriotism, that 
high purpose to serve the people we are honored to rep- 
resent with the fidelity and courage which characterized 
our departed friend — a colleague whose friendship added 
to our joys of living and whose example and character 
give us hope to achieve the best ideals in popular govern- 
ment. 

The Speaker pro tempore. In accordance with the reso- 
lution heretofore adopted, the House will stand adjourned. 

Accordingly (at 1 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned until to-morrow, Monday, February 11, 
1918, at 12 o'clock noon. 



[41] 



Proceedings in the Senate 

Friday, January i, 1918. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
G. F. Turner, one of its clerks, communicated to the Sen- 
ate the intelligence of the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. 
Bathrick, late a Representative from the State of Ohio, 
and transmitted resolutions of the House thereon. 

Tlie Presiding Officer (Mr. Sheppard in the chair) . The 
Chair lays before the Senate resolutions from the House 
of Representatives on the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. 
Bathrick, late a Representative from the State of Ohio, 
which will be read. 

The Secretary' read the resolutions, as follows : 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late a Representative 
from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Pomerene. Mr. President, I offer the following reso- 
lutions and ask that they be read. 

The resolutions were read, considered by unanimous 
consent, and unanimously agreed to, as follows : 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. Ellsworth R. Bathrick, late 
a Representative from the State of Ohio. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of the 
deceased. 

Mr. PoMEKENE. Mr. President, as a further mark of re- 
spect to the memory of the deceased Representative I 
move that the Senate do now adjourn. 

[43] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Bathrick 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 
o'clock and 40 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow, Saturday, January 5, 1918, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 

Wednesday, February 13, 1918. 

message from the house 

A message from the House of Representatives, by G. F. 
Turner, one of its clerks, transmitted to the Senate resolu- 
tions on the life and public services of the Hon. Ells- 
worth R. Bathrick, late a Representative from the State 
of Ohio. 



[44] 



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